This disclosure is directed to a method and system for analyzing captured vehicle parts alteration data and correlating with vehicle service procedures to identify service completion and anomalies.
Traditionally, the value of a used vehicle is very difficult to ascertain due to the wide variety of factors that can affect it in terms of wear and tear, maintenance, accidents and more. This information is either obtained by human examination of the vehicle or relying on insurance claims.
Clear and complete vehicle histories are very difficult to determine and verify due to the indirect nature by which they can be discovered. The methods available depend on self-reporting and third party discovery related to billing information, accident reports, etc. The current methods do not provide a means by which the vehicle itself is able to provide enough information to describe the vehicle's history to highlight both the positive and negative aspects for the owner, prospective buyers and interested parties such as mechanics.
One very well known solution is the use of a service such as Car Fax®. In this model, a variety of sources external to the car provide information about the vehicle's history. This solution cannot fill the gap of information it was not privy to such as maintenance information, conditions under which the car operated, events that did not result in reporting, etc. The traditional solution is for the vehicle owner to track and collect all receipts and maintenance records. The owner may simply remove from the documentation anything related to negative items (such as collision repair) as well as fabricating records. More importantly, many people simply do not keep the records and are then at a disadvantage during the sale if the vehicle was well maintained.
One known method involves placing RFID tags on personal or vehicle assets attached to the car and then monitoring them. If an asset is missing and it is not expected to be missing then a notification is sent to a user. The actions the system takes in response to a removed item is limited to sending a notification to the owner of the car.
Another known system tracks when car parts have been removed and what types of parts are returned to the vehicle to replace the missing part. The system records what parts or fluids were detected and also records other errors encountered in a log. The system allows the RFID tag of a replaced item to be looked up in a database and cross referenced with the vehicle owner's bill to determine if he was overcharged for parts that shouldn't have cost as much as they are shown on the bill.
Another prior art system detects when service was performed on a vehicle. The system detects the pairing of assets that have been removed and then recording that as a service action is performed. For example the system can understand that an oil change event isn't complete unless both the gasket and oil filter are both replaced.